Gwyneth Paltrow is a woman of many talents – she’s an Oscar and Emmy award-winning actress, a mom of two to daughter Apple Martin, 21, and son Moses Martin, 19, wife to Brad Falchuk, and an author.
But perhaps what she’s known for most of all is being the founder of her immensely popular wellness brand Goop.
Since she founded the brand in 2008, she has turned it into a multi-million dollar empire, even expanding to have a full-time team and building a clothing line out of it, G. Label by Goop.
Despite its success, Goop, which sells products like an $1,000 gemstone heat therapy mat and $55 sex oil, has become embroiled in controversy on more than one occasion, as Paltrow has made headlines for some of the wild health ‘tips’ that she’s peddled – and sold – on the platform.
In the new biography about the wellness mogul authored by Amy Odell, she writes that Paltrow become ‘indoctrinated’ into the world of ‘big wellness’ after her dad was diagnosed with throat cancer, and she began searching for answers and allegedly went down a ‘rabbit hole,’ per People.
According to Odell’s book, ‘big wellness,’ is ‘an industry that demonizes things like toxins and chemicals present in everyday items that we can’t escape.’
Her father’s diagnosis, along with a health scare that had Paltrow believing that she had a stroke, encouraged her to seek out all different kinds of doctors and wellness practices – like rectal ozone therapy, something she spoke about during a 2023 podcast appearance.
Over the years, she’s backed a slew of bizarre and eyebrow-raising health trends, and FEMAIL has rounded up the craziest guidance she’s doled out over the years.
Over the years, Gwyneth Paltrow has backed a slew of bizarre and eyebrow-raising health trends, and FEMAIL has rounded up the craziest guidance she’s doled out over the years
The vaginal jade eggs that ended up in a lawsuit and a $145,000 settlement
In 2017, Paltrow began selling $66 jade and rose quartz eggs on Goop’s website, which were meant to be inserted vaginally and were said to have a number of benefits to them.
According to ABC News, the advertising that Goop peddled on these precious stone eggs promised to ‘balance hormones,’ ‘prevent uterine prolapse,’ and regulate your period.
At the time, a blog post on Goop further peddled their magic, as the author wrote at the time that the eggs can not only help you sexually, but that they were great for your kidneys.
‘Jade eggs can help cultivate sexual energy, increase orgasm, balance the cycle, stimulate key reflexology around vaginal walls, tighten and tone, prevent uterine prolapse, increase control of the whole perineum and bladder, develop and clear chi pathways in the body, intensify feminine energy, and invigorate our life force,’ the author wrote in a since-deleted blog post that was obtained by Forbes at the time.
‘The jade creates kidney strength – it’s known as jing in Chinese energy, and it’s all about sexual potency, and even beauty – if your hormones are balanced, your skin will look better,’ the post continued.
‘It’s a holistic combination of things, where one benefit builds to another. Jade also takes away negativity and cleanses – it’s a very heavy material, very powerful.’
In 2017, Paltrow began selling $66 jade and rose quartz eggs on Goop’s website, which were meant to be inserted vaginally and were said to have a number of benefits to them
The California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force filed a complaint in 2018 against Goop for its ‘misleading claims’
But it turns out that the jade eggs were not capable of doing all of the above, like balancing out your hormones – and it resulted in a lawsuit for Paltrow.
The California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force filed a complaint in 2018 against Goop for its ‘misleading claims.’
Days later, it was settled for $145,000, and the jade eggs were promptly removed from the website – although they came back online years later, this time described as something you can use for Kegel exercises.
Paltrow went on an eight-day goat’s milk cleanse that she said helped get rid of parasites
In 2017, Paltrow revealed during an interview with Women’s Health that she had recently completed an eight-day goat’s milk cleanse in order to get parasites out of her body.
For over a week, she drank nothing but goat milk.
Parasites can be caused by certain foods, like unpasteurized milk, per Cleveland Clinic, and they typically make you very sick.
They are often treated with medication like antibiotics or drugs that are especially targeted to get rid of parasites.
‘I’m really interested in the impact of heavy metals and parasites on our bodies,’ she told the outlet at the time.
In 2017, Paltrow (seen in 2021) revealed during an interview with Women’s Health that she had recently completed an eight-day goat’s milk cleanse in order to get parasites out of her body
‘I think they’re two of the biggest culprits in terms of why we feel bad. I’m knee-deep in figuring out ways to clear them from the body, looking at all sorts of potentially weird modalities,’ she continued.
However, it was a claim that was quickly called out by many medical experts, like Canadian gynecologist Dr. Jen Gunter, who took to her own website to pen a blog post about Paltrow’s claim, calling them ‘stupid’ and ‘dangerous.’
At the time, a naturopath named Linda Lancaster had written about parasites for Goop’s website, claiming that a parasite is ‘anything that infests the body and has a life of its own’ – and she was the one who believed goats milk was the answer.
And per Dr. Gunter, that was totally inaccurate.
‘This advice is stupid and dangerous and frankly insulting and if Paltrow is really a goat milk cleanse devotee it isn’t just her advice that stinks, I bet her gas is atrocious too,’ Dr. Gunter wrote.
Paltrow was once stung by bees – on purpose – to get rid of scarring
In 2016, Paltrow revealed that she had voluntarily tried a treatment called apitherapy, which she said was ‘thousands of years old’ and involved bee venom through an injection or even live insect bites.
‘I’ve been stung by bees,’ the former actress told The New York Times during a 2016 interview.
In 2016, Paltrow (seen in 2024) revealed that she had voluntarily tried a treatment called apitherapy, which she involves bee venom through an injection or even live insect bites
‘It’s a thousands of years old treatment called apitherapy. People use it to get rid of inflammation and scarring. It’s actually pretty incredible if you research it. But, man, it’s painful,’ she admitted.
According to Harper’s Bazaar, the therapy is supposed to help heal your skin or old injuries due to the anti-inflammatory properties that are found in bee venom.
At the time, Paltrow even wrote a few blog posts on Goop touting the treatments.
She claimed that she had gotten it for an ‘old injury,’ which, miraculously, completely disappeared.
Dr. David Manganaro, an internal medicine doctor, was interviewed by the site, and he claimed that the peculiar practice can also be used to ‘alleviate joint pain.’
However, in 2018, a 55-year-old Spanish woman passed away from apitherapy following two years of treatment, after she developed an allergic reaction.
She suffered anaphylaxis, which led to her entering a coma and enduring multiple organ failure. She passed away weeks later in Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid.
Goop once sold $120 ‘bio-frequency healing’ stickers, claiming they had the same materials as NASA spacesuits
Goop once sold $120 ‘bio-frequency healing’ stickers, claiming they had the same materials as NASA spacesuits
Goop once sold something called ‘bio-frequency healing’ stickers in 2017, which the brand swore would ‘rebalance the energy frequency in our bodies,’ per Gizmodo.
They claimed that the product, made by Body Vibes, could help reduce anxiety.
The stickers were wearable, and they were said to be made with the same material as a NASA space suit.
‘Human bodies operate at an ideal energetic frequency, but everyday stresses and anxiety can throw off our internal balance, depleting our energy reserves and weakening our immune systems,’ the since-deleted product description read, as captured by Gizmodo.
‘Body Vibes stickers (made with the same conductive carbon material NASA uses to line space suits so they can monitor an astronaut’s vitals during wear) come pre-programmed to an ideal frequency, allowing them to target imbalances,’ the description concluded.
However, when NASA caught wind of this, they were less than pleased, and refuted claims that their spacesuits were made of any such material.
A representative for NASA told Gizmodo at the time that they ‘do not have any conductive carbon material lining the spacesuits,’ with another former scientist at the organization labeling it a ‘load of BS.’
However, when NASA caught wind of this, they were less than pleased, and refuted claims that their spacesuits were made of any such material
Goop recommend an at-home coffee enema but warned to only use it if you know what to do
Every year, Goop produces various round-up guides on the best detox practices and beauty and wellness products, which include a myriad of tips and tricks.
But in 2018, their beauty and wellness detox guide especially stood out against the crowd, as they included a $135 At-Home Coffee Enema Implant O-Rama System on the list.
They boasted that it was one of Dr. Alejandro Junger’s favorite products, the cardiologist and founder of cleanse system The Clean Program, who often penned pieces for their site.
However, Goop added that they only recommended the product for those who ‘knew what they were doing.’
Though it looks like the Implant O-Rama System is now defunct, as the website’s domain is expired, a coffee enema promises total detoxification.
Per Healthline, a coffee enema involves injecting brewed and caffeinated coffee, along with water, into the colon via the rectum.
Many report having relief from constipation as a result, but others claim intestinal and liver detoxification, and a boost to the immune system, per the medical outlet.
However, they noted that there was no scientific evidence that a coffee enema is ‘helpful in treating any medical condition.’
